US stock index futures edge higher on earnings reports; Time Warner soars on Murdoch bid

U.S. stock futures are pointing to a higher opening Wednesday on second-quarter earnings reports and deal news. Investors are also keeping an eye on Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, who is testifying to Congress for a second day.

KEEPING SCORE: Dow Jones industrial average futures rose 63 points, or 0.4 percent, to 17,051 as of 9:16 a.m. Eastern time. Standard & Poor's 500 index futures rose eight points, or 0.4 percent, to 1,976. Nasdaq 100 futures added 25 points, or 0.7 percent, to 3,938.

MURDOCH BID: Time Warner soared 15 percent in premarket trading after Rupert Murdoch's Twenty-First Century Fox disclosed it made a bid for the media giant. Fox said Time Warner rejected its offer. The New York Times is reporting that that bid totaled $80 billion, or $85 in stock and cash for each Time Warner share.

APPLE DEAL: Apple and IBM rose after the former rivals announced late Tuesday that they will work on mobile applications together in a bid to sell more iPhones and iPads to corporate customers. Apple rose $2.02, or 2 percent, to $97.34 in premarket trading. IBM added $3.71, or 2 percent, to $192.20.

INTEL SURGE: Intel rose $1.71, or 5.5 percent, to $33.45 in premarket trading. The chipmaker reported late Tuesday that its earnings jumped 40 percent in the latest quarter, beating expectations, as companies picked up the pace of office PC replacement.

BANK WOES: Bank of America was flat after reporting second quarter earnings that were hit by higher litigation expenses. The Charlotte, N.C.-based bank earned 19 cents per share compared with 32 cents a year ago.

EUROPE AND ASIA: European stocks are rising after China reported economic growth picked up slightly in the second quarter. The world's second largest economy grew 7.5 percent over a year earlier.

Britain's FTSE 100 added 1.2 percent and the CAC-40 in France surged 1.6 percent. Germany's DAX rose 1.5 percent.

Asia markets were mixed. Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 0.1 percent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.3 percent and China's Shanghai Composite fell 0.1 percent.

BONDS AND OIL: Bond prices fell slightly. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.56 percent from 2.55 percent. Benchmark U.S. crude for August delivery was up 80 cents at $100.77 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.